The Waiting Game: A Grief Intervention/Board Game for Children with an Incarcerated Parent

Asia Vianna Mack, B.A., The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Children whose parent is incarcerated go through a loss experience that is often overlooked by those around them. The Waiting Game is a grief intervention to help children work through this loss experience so that it may be integrated, in a healthy manner, into their lives. The Waiting Game is a board game designed to take the child through three mourning tasks, including understanding their loss experience, grieving their loss experiences, and creating continuing bonds with the parent they have been separated from. The target population for this grief intervention is children with an incarcerated parent. The overall idea is to have interchangeable boards so that the game can be used all throughout childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.